Steven Fletcher has grown orchids for about 15 years, eventually becoming the chairman of the Cambridge Orchid Society. Every time the society put on a display of orchids, ferns were used to set off the flowers so his interest in ferns stems from that time. He then started to propagate one or two of the Nephrolepis cultivars to try and cover a little of the expense of the orchid habit. No hope of that really!
We visited the Newbury Orchid Show with the Cambridge Orchid Society and the only plant we bought was a fern from one of the trade stands, having no idea what it was. It grew absolutely huge within a year of being in the orchid house here and we were hooked! It turned out to be Cyathea cooperi which, as some people may know, can be an absolute monster, soon outgrowing any normal greenhouse.
Our first ever display was in 1997 at the Newbury Orchid Show and we also did a few small society shows just selling the Nephrolepis cultivars and a couple of hardy species. Since then we've had several years at the East of England and the Suffolk Show, and also some other local shows. 2002 saw us at RHS Wisley with our first RHS gold medal; we've now done three RHS shows and had three Golds. In 2004 we will be at Chelsea and Hampton Court so we shall be keeping our fingers crossed!
We now do a much wider variety of hardy and non-hardy fern species, some of which we propagate from spore ourselves. We are also growing a few rare Cyathea species and are always trying to propagate new and unusual ferns. Hopefully in 2004 we should also have some new Athyrium variations from the USA.
We are happy to have visitors here in Suffolk throughout the summer months with an appointment and will also bring prepaid orders to shows and plant sales.
www.fernatix. co.uk;The nursery holds three National Collections; figs, citrus and grapevines (indoor).
Fig trees are versatile plants ,tolerant of harsh drainage and poor soils. They grow well against walls trained into a fan ,in a pot on the terrace, and even as a free standing tree although this latter method will not necessarily produce an abundance of fruit unless the sun really shines. An untrained tree can grow into an architectural masterpiece with gnarled trunk and shapely leaves.
Until quite recently an orchard of figs existed in west Suffolk. It only covered an acre , but commercial quantities were sent to market on a regular basis. Even the winter of 1947 caused no problems for the trees and they were still in production 10 years later.
The choice of variety is important. Some including 'Brunswick' are early enough to crop in most situations. 'Petite Negri' will give you a dwarfish plant well suited to a pot or small garden. These are just two of the 87 cultivars we now grow.
Grapevines have moved on a lot in the last few years. Classics such as 'Muscat of Alexandria' are still the best for a warm greenhouse , but the more modern seedless cultivars are proving their worth. Over the last three years we have added nine seedless cultivars to our list and there are more on trial. The garden hardy cultivars are most useful and given a warm wall or fence that gets a good supply of sun , a good crop can be obtained most years. Thinning of the fruit is not usually needed, just reduce the number of bunches. Children are always the first to eat the fruit which can be white, amber or red. 'Perlett' (white), 'Himrod' (amber) and 'Crimson Seedless' (red) are some of the best.
The citrus collection came from the famous 'Rivers' nursery in the early 1980s and has been built upon ever since. A conservatory or greenhouse is needed to give them ideal conditions, keep them frost free in winter and provide plenty of light, Lemons such as 'La Valette' are the best for a beginner followed by limes 'Tahiti and 'Key. Oranges work well but do not give the biggest crop , lemons also flower more often , sometimes three to four times per year.
Other plants grown on the nursery include flowering conservatory plants and a wide range of fruits such as peaches, nectarines, gages, quince, and many others.
The nursery is currently run by Stephen and Debbie Read. Some 99% of all our plants are propagated inhouse by Debbie, I wield the knife for all fruit tree grafting. We usually only buy in plants to add to the collection. Not quite organic, but the nursery fully utilises biological control for all pests and some diseases, and this year we are converting to a peat free compost for all our container grown plants.
The nursery was established in 1890, growing mainly commercial crops such as melon, tomato, mushrooms and the like. In the background there was always a collection of more interesting plants, and gradually they eased out the more utilitarian, and we are now proud of our interesting if quirky collection of plants.
Stephen Read
Reads Nursery,
Hales Hall,
Loddon,
Norfolk NR14 6QW.
Tel: 01508 548395,
Fax: 01508 548040,
e-mail:plants@readsnursery.co.uk or visit plants@readsnursery.co.uk
See Suffolk Group Newsletter Autumn 2000 for Terence Read's article on The Fig and the National Collection at Reads Nursery.